​THE hotly contested issue of leaving pets, particularly dogs, alone in cars while their owners are away to do some errands might soon be resolved for good if only everyone drives a Tesla car.

The electric car maker has launched “Dog Mode”, a function which will allow the air conditioning to remain on while the car is locked and secured, creating a safer environment for pets. People outside looking in can even see a big monitor that shows the temperature inside the car, which should reassure them that there's no need to intervene and break the car's glass windows.

Dogs in relaxed mode while their Tesla car is on Dog Mode. (Photo from Tesla / YouTube)

According to PETA, 15 minutes is all it takes for pets to suffer from heat stroke in a hot car. During summer, the lethal mistake of leaving pets locked up in hot cars can kill them even faster.

The creation of Dog Mode was a direct response by Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, to a Twitter user who requested for such feature. The billionaire then quickly developed Dog Mode which, aside from showing the temperature inside the car, will also let passers-by read a message that the pets' owner will be back right away.

Other safety features includes an alert system that notifies Tesla owner when the car's battery drops below 20 percent while in Dog Mode and that they should return before the air conditioning dies.

As it is still in prototype phase, the Dog Mode is planned to be rolled out in select Tesla cars initially. Musk said Dog Mode will also have Cabin Overheat Protection, which come on automatically at high temps to ensure any babies or pets in the car are safe. -- MetroPets